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David Chalian, back in business

By Dylan Byers

10/12/12 08:53 AM EDT

David Chalian is getting back in the business.

The veteran journalist has been named vice president of video programming at POLITICO to enhance video quality and content across new and existing platforms, including the POLITICO LIVE programs, according to an internal memo.

Chalian had been the Washington bureau chief at Yahoo News but was fired two months ago after he was caught on an open mic at this year's Republican National Convention saying that convention officials were "happy to have a party with black people drowning." The remark, a reference to the fact that the convention was taking place while Hurricane Issac was battering the northern Gulf coast, was deemed "inappropriate" by Yahoo News. Chalian was terminated within hours after the news was made public. He apologized for the "inappropriate and thoughtless joke."

POLITICO Editor-in-Chief John Harris said management took Chalian's remark into consideration prior to hiring him.

"David screwed up, admitted he screwed up and paid the price of losing his job for screwing up. He certainly would have been held accountable for the lapse in judgment had he been on the POLITICO staff at the time," Harris told POLITICO. "He’s made clear that remark did not reflect his personal views or professional standards. This is a journalist who carries with him more than a decade of accomplishment and a well-earned reputation for fairness. We do not believe that lapse in one moment negates a reputation held in high regard by political professionals in both parties. He's superbly well-qualified to help us achieve a strategic goal that is very important for POLITICO."

"I'm thrilled to be joining the POLITICO team and eager to help take its extraordinarily successful and groundbreaking work in video to even greater heights," Chalian told POLITICO.

Prior to joining Yahoo News, Chalian was political editor for "PBS NewsHour," overseeing political coverage across the program's broadcast and digital platforms. Before that, he served as political director for ABC News, where his team won an Emmy Award for their coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009.

Harris said Chalian "has a keen understanding of politics, and is well-respected and has deep source networks in both parties." Kim Kingsley, POLITICO's chief operating officer, described Chalian in the memo as "a well-known talent and a well-respected figure among many people in our newsroom."

"For POLITICO — and I suspect for nearly all news organizations — the role of original video content in a digital world is a work in progress," Harris explained. "We are looking to David — and the others on our team — to map that future."

Harris lauded Robert Allbritton, the publisher of POLITICO and chief executive of Allbritton Communications, as "the essential member" of that team.

"As someone who grew up around television and is a leader in the industry today, Robert doesn't profess to have all the answers about where video is heading but has pressed the newsroom to come up with creative responses to the changes in the way people consume news and to make sure we are innovating with video content," Harris said.